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SAME PROGRAM, DIFFERENT PATH

10/29/2021, 1:45pm CDT
By Jon Weisbrod

After turbulent regular season, Huskies still in good position as playoff opener kicks off Saturday night

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If the 2021 Owatonna football team wasn’t part of the Owatonna football culture, the wheels would have fallen off a long time ago.

Things could have gotten ugly really fast over the last couple of months. It could have — and probably should have — bottomed out sometime around the 1-2 start and the loss of yet another starting quarterback to injury.

But it didn’t.

Every time it looked like things where about to spiral out of control, the team would rise up and remind the opposition, and perhaps remind themselves, that they were still Owatonna. They were still the same powerhouse program that won three state championships in a six-year span from 2013 to 2018 and were still being guided by a future Hall-of-Fame coach. They were still being instructed by the same group of assistant coaches that helped develop some of the best players to come through in the Big Nine Conference/Big Southeast District over the last 20 years and still singing the same school song after every rousing victory.

To be sure, there have been plenty of obstacles over the last couple months, but the current group of Huskies continually forged ahead and didn’t allow the uncharacteristic rash of breaks, tears and sprains prevent them from muscling their way to an impressive three-game winning streak in the middle of the season, or stop them pulling off a gutsy victory over a state-ranked opponent — on a short week — in a downpour. It might have gotten little wobbly at times, but the team routinely found a way to remain largely on track to achieve the goals they established when they first gathered for two-a-days beneath the scorching mid-August sun.

It’s now late-October, and they’re preparing to host third-seeded Northfield in the Section 1-5A semifinals and need only to avoid an upset to put themselves on the doorstep of the state tournament.

“I am a believer that the only way to learn how to overcome adversity is to actually overcome adversity,” Owatonna coach Jeff Williams said. “For us to bounce back after the debacle against New Prague (in Week 7) and hunker down on defense and be opportunistic on offense (in Week 8 against Kasson-Mantorville), that says a lot. That’s encouraging.”

Highlighted by the gutsy victory over the No. 8-ranked KoMets (Class 4A) in the regular season finale, Owatonna secured its 15th consecutive winning season and did just enough during in the previous seven games to put itself its current positions as the No. 2 seed in the admittedly forgiving Section 1-5A bracket.

But that’s just it, OHS might have endured “down” year based on its own lofty merits and deployed an unusually high number of first-year starters, but so did fellow section members Rochester John Marshall, Rochester Century and Northfield, and those teams finished a combined 10 games below .500 and cobbled together no more than three wins apiece. The Huskies, on the other hand, not only defeated those three teams, but finished with a 5-3 overall mark, lost against a trio of teams that combined for an .875 winning percentage and scored the most points of any opponent against No. 6-ranked Rochester Mayo.

Quite simply, success in Owatonna is measured on a different scale. A sub-standard year for the Huskies might be considered a resounding success for many of the teams they see on a regular basis. New Prague (7-2), for instance, beat Owatonna for the first time ever in Week 7 and has put together its best season since 2012 when the Trojans won six games and lost in the section quarterfinals. In the same nine-year window, the Huskies played in four state Prep Bowl championship games, won three Class 5A titles and compiled a .861 winning percentage.

This year’s team might not enter the postseason as one of the favorites to win it all, but the individual components are certainly in place for the Huskies to earn the chance to compete on the big stage and take a swing the contenders.

For now, it’s just business as usual.

“They are treating the preparation like a regular season game,” Williams said. “I don’t sense a feeling of looming dread with this group. That might happen closer to kickoff (on Saturday against Northfield), but for now, I haven’t sensed that.”

Huskies in the hunt: Buoyed by under-the-radar defense, OHS levels off as second seed in Section 1-5A

As the playoffs kick into gear, the main difference between this year’s OHS team and those of recent lineage is the margin of error is much smaller. In 2017 and 2018 Jason Williamson could compensate for just about any potential shortcomings, or the Huskies’ ultra-explosive offense could simply out-gun an opponent that might have caused problems for their defense. In 2013, the Huskies simply had enough impactful playmakers on both sides of the ball that an off night by a few frontline starters could easily be absorbed by the long list of ultra-skilled athletes on the roster.

This year, things are different. Against Northfield on Saturday night, Owatonna might be able to get away with a B- effort and advance to the next round, but that’s where any potential wiggle room ends. In order for the Huskies to pull off an upset of any scale this postseason, they’ll need to display a level of execution that has been sustained for only periodic bursts throughout the previous eight games.

Periodic, but tangible.

They’ll have to put forth the same defensive effort they did for the majority of the game against Kasson-Mantorville and find a way to counter with an offense that executes somewhere in the realm of the final two quarters of Week 1 against Mayo and the entire game against Austin in Week 4, though the latter is difficult to surmise considering they won’t see a defense nearly as generous as the Packers moving forward.

But regardless of the actual probability of Owatonna pulling off an upset, there remains plenty of evidence to believe it is at least possible. First and foremost, the Huskies have a distinct identity, and it starts and stops with their defense. Despite only playing at full strength for less than 50% of the season due to a litany of injuries, the group has largely dispelled the tackling issues that beset them in the early portion of the schedule and emerged as a downright stingy group. Though the 21.1 points allowed per game isn’t necessarily head-turning, it only takes a little digging to begin to appreciate the full capability of the entire unit.

Starting in the season-opener against the explosive Spartans, the Huskies’ defense has been put in one precarious position after another and skewed the numbers in an unfavorable direction. For instance, the final score against Mayo read “58-31” but doesn’t paint the full picture of what actually took place at Spartan Stadium that night.

For starters, the defense can be immediately let off the hook for the two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns, and though that still leaves Mayo with 44 points, there are several other mitigating factors to consider when scrutinizing the final score. It should be noted that the Spartans began their third possession of the game inside the Owatonna 5-yard line and another at the OHS 27. When all was said and done, Mayo’s offense took the field to begin five drives in Huskies’ territory, which is only asking for trouble against a Spartans offense that finished as one of only two teams in the Big Southeast District to average more than 40 points per game.  

But as easy as Owatonna made for the Spartans, the Huskies were even more generous against New Prague in Week 7. In a 27-0 loss, Owatonna gift-wrapped the Trojans four possessions that started inside the Huskies’ 35-yard line, leading directly to 20 points. Half of those scoring drives began within red zone and one of them started a mere three feet from the end zone. The Trojans were more than happy to take advantage of the short fields and took a 14-0 lead into halftime having scored on drives that combined for 13 yards. In the second half, two of New Prague’s three scoring possessions were initiated inside the Owatonna 22.

As dangerous as it might be to play the “what-if” game, it’s at least semi-interesting to explore some of these scenarios. If Mayo’s two pick-sixes were taken off the ledger and the final score against New Prague recalibrated to a far more representative 12-0, the Huskies’ defensive average would level off at 16.7 points-per-game, which is much more indicative to how they have actually played. Under this same scale, OHS would have allowed just 8.0 PPG since Week 3 and permitted no more than 14 points in any single contest in the streak.

There is also a lot to appreciate about the unadulterated numbers the Huskies put up throughout the regular season, such as the three-game stretch against Austin, Northfield and John Marshall where they allowed just 14 points in 12-quarter stretch. In those three games, the Huskies forced nine turnovers and surrendered just 12 first downs while pitching their lone shutout against the Rockets in a 41-0 rout in Week 6.

From a personnel standpoint, Owatonna’s defense has some moxie and isn’t as far removed from a pure talent standpoint as some of the top groups that have cycled through the program over the last handful of years. One would have to look really hard to find a more complete linebacker than Grant Achterkirch in all of Class 5A. The Division II college prospect leads the Huskies in tackles by a wide margin with 61 stops despite not playing in the Huskies’ first two games, which was certainly felt throughout the entire squad.

“I think when Grant was out, we had some guys trying to make up for his absence and guys felt like they had to do too much,” Williams said. “But we have really settled in now and having Grant in there obviously helps everyone.”

Junior Drew Kretlow is the only one of the starting linebackers to play in all eight games and sits third on the team with 32 tackles and first in sacks with four. Physical and fast Conner Grems has compiled 19 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, one interception and one fumble recovery despite playing in what essentially amounts to five total games after sustaining an ankle injury early in Week 1.

In the secondary, strong cornerback Caleb Vereide has spearheaded a top-flight group that featured two seniors, a junior and a sophomore within its normal starting lineup. Williams said Vereide — who is second on the team with 45 tackles — has “matured greatly into his position” according to Williams and is the cornerstone of a secondary that has allowed the opposition to complete less than 40% of its passes, and that includes a pair of games against the two best gun-slingers in the league in Bennett Ellsworth of Mayo and Zander Dittbenner of West.

“They’ve certainly risen to another level,” Williams added.

On the other side of the ball, things haven’t been quite as steady, and there are plenty of factors that have contributed to Owatonna’s inconsistencies throughout the previous eight weeks.

First and foremost, Owatonna enters the postseason deploying a sophomore quarterback who started the season as the team’s No. 4 option at the position. But due to a cascade of injuries that were triggered when expected starter, Grant Achterkirch, broke his hand within the first week of practice, Owatonna has cycled through more quarterbacks over the last 10 weeks than the previous three years combined. After the loss of Achterkirch, OHS turned to senior Taylor Bogen, who blew up for 326 passing yards against Rochester Mayo in the opener, but suffered a season-ending injury a week later in a narrow victory over Rochester Century. Cael Dowling started Week 3 against top-ranked Mankato West on the road before he settled back into his position as a full-time outside linebacker and the staff ultimately turned to youngster Jacob Ginskey.

And as one might expect, there have been some peaks and valleys since handing the keys to the sophomore, but through it all, there has been promise. Ginskey started with a sparkling effort against Austin in his first career start — tossing four touchdown passes and completing 13 of 18 passes for 193 yards — and followed with a rock-solid 9-for-18 showing against the same Raiders team he will face on Saturday. A week later in Week 6, he went 17-for-24 for 222 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions against John Marshall.

However, over the last couple weeks, Ginskey has completed just four passes in the last two games, leveling off at 46-for-87 (52.9%), 622 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions in five weeks at the helm.

“When we keep things clean, Jacob has proven he can be very good,” Williams said. “It’s when things break down when he’s had some problems.”

Keeping Ginskey upright is only a piece of the puzzle when it comes to the duties placed upon Owatonna’s offensive line. Ultimately, it’s high school football, and the Huskies’ overall success is tethered to how well the five blockers up front can execute.

Injuries have forced the staff to rotate several different starting iterations up front, but appear to have settled in at just the right time.

“No matter what we do, it all starts up front,” Williams said. “Our offensive line seems to have found a steady rotation and has really started to gel over the last couple of weeks, and we are going to need them. Everything we do on offense is predicated on how those guys perform up front.”

Game Time: No. 3 Northfield at No. 2 Owatonna

Time: 7 p.m.

Date: Saturday

Place: Owatonna football stadium

On the line: Section 1-5A semifinal

Winner plays: Either No. 1 Rochester Mayo or No. 4 Rochester Century on Saturday, Nov. 6

First meeting: Owatonna 26, Northfield 7 (Friday, Oct. 1, Week 5). Read the game story here: ROCKING THE RAIDERS

Opening round: Owatonna, bye; Northfield beat Austin, 48-14

From coach Williams: “We had some time off but have had five good days of practice. It’s now about going out there and saying ‘OK, it’s going to be man-to-man and we just have to make plays.’ Northfield has more than enough talent to give us problems on both sides of the ball if we don’t execute.”

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